this B2 performance class is pushing me and challenging me in ways that i haven't been since the las vegas bellydance intensive. and unlike that, which only lasted a weekend, this is a class with 14 weeks remaining, all building up to a performance on a stage in front of several hundred people. this is a good thing-- i am in a mood to accept and defeat challenges.



the choreography is very shimmy-heavy-- which is good for me, though i am so much better with straight-leg (egyptian) shimmies rather than hip shimmies, where i find i lose the rhythm quickly. it's like the sloshing of my thighs (not that they are big-- they are not really, but they are there) disrupts the motion, or something. well, it is a good excuse to focus on this fundamental move. and fortunately, there is more straight-leg than hip in this choreography. so, to continue-- lots of shimmies, lots of undulations (camels and otherwise)-- also good. my camels are getting nice-- though i feel the bone structure of my rib cage (big) messes up the appearance of things. i can't change that-- so i can only ensure that i do the camels that much more flawlessly in terms of execution.



then-- there is this one crazy bit, where we are shimmying, snap arms up-- and then there are wrist circles, *and* rib circles, layered simultaneously over the steady shimmying. and though i find i generally respond better to brianne's drilling style, allyson has been so great at helping us isolate and layer. i still feel pretty robotic as i do it, but in trying to do three, i find that layering two moves is now relatively non problematic, and the three is within sight. that is pretty amazing, considering i only started formal classes last year, and missed the better part of three months of that.

***



in other news, having watched V for Vendetta again on saturday (i had only seen it once or twice since the theater release), i have been obsessively all about the soundtrack since then. dario marianelli is a genius.

over the last two weeks or so, i have been so good about bellydance practice. with the exception of new year's day and january 2, i have gotten at least some practice in every single day. granted, i don't think my skill (or my figure) is what it was 3 or so months ago, before my two month absence from dance due to travel and my back injury. but i am definitely well on my way.



i'm still doing the introduction to bellydance drills (sonia, bozenka, amar gamal, and saida) as my core practice, but lately i have been supplementing, even supplanting, with sera's east coast tribal DVD. i like the warmup a lot, as it does work on flexibility, which i very much need (curse you spinal discs, i used to be able to do splits with ease!), and the strength workout component does get my heartrate going up a bit. also, the combinations give me more of a sense of progress and accomplishment than just drilling-drilling-drilling. combination 2 is particularly nice and slither-y. :)



and the timing of this progress and discipline is good-- my regular classes start again next week! i am very excited. thursday, i am taking two beginner II classes, one a tuesday performance class with allyson, one a thursday technique class with brianne. all told, this will be my third (and probably final) time at the beginner II level. i hope to be ready for low intermediate for the summer session-- though i will only be able to take roughly 60-70% of the classes, due to late july/aug obligations, but will definitely repeat it several times, regardless, starting with the fall.



the workshops look insanely good this semester, i think i will be taking the majority of them, actually. (http://saharadance.com/workshops/) basically, what follows is almost all of the workshops that do not require a higher intermediate/advanced level background:



music 101 for bellydancers, sat jan 10, elysa (my music foundation is really weak, though i am a bit iffy on taking the time so soon)



industrial strength african fusion, sat jan 31, shakra transfusion (sounds fun, though i am a bit iffy on it too, as is definitely more workout than technique)



1001 shimmies, sat feb 7, allyson (i've taken this class before and loved it)



intro to tribal belly dance, sat feb 21, michelle (i'm definitely not the ATS type, and want to focus on building a more traditional foundation, but fusion-y stuff is interesting to me)



balancing props, sat mar 14, leila (it is an excuse to play with my cane! but i might skip it, so as to attend contempt that month)



drum solo choreography, sat mar 28, allyson (i love drum solos!)



master classes with bozenka, sat-sun, apr 4-5 (OMG, i am so excited to study from her in person. i think i will only take the second day-- it says only one year of experience is required, but the 'reaching new heights' class on the first day involves veil, which still terrifies me-- i need an intro to veil class first!)



lebanese pop choreography, sat apr 11, leila (that just seems fun)



layering, sat apr 25, jennifer (taken before, want to seize the chance to focus on this again)



so, between all of this, and preparing for performing in the big under the desert moon showcase in may, i will be pretty busy with the dancing. i don't do new year's resolutions, but i am determined to make this activity, which i enjoy so incredibly much, and which is so good for me, one of my highest priorities in 2009. there is also very much a health element here-- in july/august, i really was in the best shape of my life in terms of how i felt, how i moved, my endurance, and i want to be there again by this july/august.

nepenthe01 and pitbullpotpie, i hope you are both having a wonderful birthday!



C and i got in from georgia a short while ago (which was nice on balance, but happy to be back here), and are now packing for our trip to NYC tomorrow. so looking forward to it. :)

...starting from her birthday on the 21st, to that other birthday today.



album here: http://www.fourthrome.com/200812cathymasalbum/album/index.html



not included there, but to capture for posterity:

- two for one martinis at halo can be dangerous the next AM.

- it was amusing, almost like the lesbian-straight takeover of the front of the lounge.

- dinner at levelone later was great, when the food eventually came. it was so late, and we so awesome, that they wound up giving us the whole thing on the house. :)

- not officially a cathymas celebration, but two nights earlier, there was awesome gingerbread house construction with T&M. so fun.

- christmas eve involved nomnomnom consumption of brian-cooked potroast, and the second season of metalocalypse. brutal. :D

- later, midnight mass with rebecca was very fun.

- christmas AM was a triumph of lazing about. as was the rest of the day. there was antipasto, phone calls to family, lots of wine, the george c scott christmas carol, and jesus camp. we try to mix it up.

- now stuffed chicken. yuuuuuuuuuuum.

to my beautiful wife, st_theodora, and the always awesome theetinygoat!